It just got uglier for Obamacare

U.S.
President Barack Obama pauses during the 93rd annual American
Legion National Convention in Minneapolis, August 30,
2011.Larry
Downing/Reuters

Anthem, one of the five biggest insurers in the US, is pulling
out of the Obamacare insurance exchanges in Wisconsin and
Indiana.

In an announcement Wednesday, the company said a combination
of decreasing participation in the exchanges and political
uncertainty made the company's presence in the two states no
longer viable.

"Today, planning and pricing for ACA-compliant health plans
has become increasingly difficult due to a shrinking and
deteriorating individual market, as well as continual changes and
uncertainty in federal operations, rules and guidance, including
cost sharing reduction subsidies and the restoration of taxes on
fully insured coverage," Anthem said in a statement provided
to Business Insider.

In comparison to Ohio, Anthem's exit from Indiana and
Wisconsin will not leave any areas with no insurer, said Cynthia
Cox, associate director at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a
nonpartisan health policy think tank.

The insurer will continue to offer off-exchange individual
health insurance plans in one county in Wisconsin and five
counties in Indiana.

Anthem's statement follows a familiar pattern
from other insurers who have announced large premium
increases or exits from the markets. The statement notes not only
the difficult participation circumstances in the market, but also
uncertainty in Washington — like the potential discontinuation
of cost-sharing reduction payments — that could be a serious
blow to their bottom line.

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act were quick to
pounce on the news, with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a
Republican, releasing a statement just a few minutes after the
news broke.

"Growing uncertainty in the health insurance market was
created by Obamacare’s costly regulations and it is causing
higher premiums and a lack of options," Walker said in a
statement. "If we do nothing, more companies will back out and
more people will lose coverage. Wisconsin families expect and
deserve better health care coverage options and the time to act
is now."

Anthem's statement also said the company was still
working with regulators in other states to continue participation
in their exchanges. Wednesday is
the deadline for insurers to submit their intention to stay
in exchanges in states that use the Healthcare.gov
platform.

"Our commitment to members has always been to provide
greater access to affordable, quality healthcare, and we will
continue to advocate solutions that will stabilize the market and
allow us return to a more robust presence in the future," Anthem
said. "In those states where Anthem has not yet made a final
participation decision, we continue to work with regulators and
remain actively engaged in dialogue."